OAKHURST — Metta Yosemite in Oakhurst is proud to present the artwork of two outstanding photographers. Come join us as we explore the fine art photography of Velda Ruddock and Wendy Denton in “LIFECYCLES.”
Artists’ Reception February 24th.
Click here for more information.
About Metta Yosemite, by Jennifer Moss, Owner
Metta Yosemite is the place in Oakhurst California for yoga classes, sound bowls, and a magical metaphysical gift shop! It was created to bring local practitioners together to form one space for mind/body/spirit wellness. We also offer an in-house gift boutique with comfort, care, and magical items.
Metta Yosemite in Oakhurst.
Metta is a Sanskrit word meaning, “Positive Energy and Kindness Towards Others,” a philosophy I embrace in my life and one which I want to foster in Yosemite area. Coming from the tech industry I realized that I didn’t want to sit at a computer all day, every day. That’s been my life for the past 30 years, and I didn’t want it to be my life for the next 30! I felt it was to reconnect human-to-human, regenerate, and build a practice of self-care. We are located in one of the most beautiful places on earth that grounds us and feeds us the amazing energy of nature and mother earth!
Let’s come together as community to unplug, center, heal, and practice self-care. So Meet Me at Metta and discover all the wonderful experiences we have to offer.
Check out The Peaceful Life Podcast for affirmations, meditations, and stories to help return your life to peace and joy.
About Velda Ruddock
Image by Velda Ruddock.
Creativity has always been important to me. But making a living as an artist is difficult and I knew I needed to make my first career in other ways. That was fine. I grew up curious and studied the social sciences and art, and earned a Masters of Information and Library Science degree. After graduating I gravitated to creating environments and sold space and time for magazines and rock-and-roll radio. Entrepreneurism and innovation remained a requirement for all subsequent jobs, including 22 years as Director of Intelligence for a global advertising and marketing agency. TBWA\Chiat\Day helped clients such as Apple, Nissan, Pepsi, Gatorade, Energizer, and many more, and I was considered a leader in my field. I was even profiled in Super Searchers of Madison Avenue (CyberAge Books, 2003) as a “Visionary for Intelligence.”
Image by Velda Ruddock.
I received my first Brownie camera for my twelfth birthday and I can’t remember a time I’ve been without a camera close at hand. However, it wasn’t until 2010 that my husband, Joe Doherty, and I started taking workshops and following the light. In 2011 we traveled to the Eastern Sierra for the fall colors and although we didn’t realize it at the time, when the sun came up over Lake Sabrina, it was the start of change in our careers.
By 2016 we had both left our “day jobs,” and we started traveling – and shooting nature – big and small – extensively. Our new four-wheel drive popup camper allowed us to go to areas a regular car can’t go and we were – and are – always looking for our next adventure.
About Wendy Denton
Image by Wendy Denton.
I learned photography in Germany in my early 20s. At first I was self-taught through books and a makeshift darkroom in my kitchen. I then used the darkroom in the Karlsruhe U.S. Army Base. My love was black and white imagery, and my photographic activity was more or less my therapy.
When I moved back to the States and ended up in San Jose, I attended De Anza College. Their photo department was then nationally known, and I am grateful for the quality instruction I received there – as well as the fellow students who were as alternative as I was and supported my less than mainstream interests. I then worked at Custom Color Lab in Palo Alto as a master color printer, where I met other artists who were both wackier and more skilled.
Image by Wendy Denton.
Over the last 30+ years I have often used the camera as my conduit with the world, my way of connecting while remaining separate. My images have usually had intensely personal meaning, except for one rather bizarre departure into wedding photography that didn’t last long. Today I am interested in the marginalized. My birds are often objects of discomfort for some because they are dead, and I found them along the side of roads. For me, photographing them is my tribute, my altar, to their presence in our lives.
My Holga images (toy, plastic camera) are of ruins, places that once held meaning for someone and now are collapsing under the weight of time. My image transfers are also of abandoned places, though these often have the feeling that someone just walked out one day and never came back. My Cancer Chronicles series documents the 18-month journey from my husband’s diagnosis of pancreatic cancer to his death. I am currently working on a new series entitled The Seven Deadly Sins of Climate Change.
Metta Yosemite
40359 Highway 41, Suite 1
Oakhurst, CA 93644
559-683-9200
